A
History through 1956From the book
CAMDEN COUNTY MEDICAL SOCIETY 1846-1956Camden County Medical
Society, 1957

OUR LADY OF LOURDES
HOSPITAL

Our
Lady of Lourdes Hospital, Camden, New Jersey, was opened to patients on
July 1, 1950, for the care of all races, colors, and creeds. The
hospital is owned and operated by the Sisters of St. Francis, Allegany,
New York, who have thirteen other hospitals from
Massachusetts to Florida. It is a general hospital with 302 beds
and 60 bassinets. It is fully approved by the Joint Commission on
the Accreditation of Hospitals as well as by the Council on
Medical Education of the A.M.A.
for the training of interns.

The
cost of the construction was $3,940,000 and the equipment reached
a cost of $800,000. It was financed chiefly through a loan from
an insurance company. Some of the funds were raised through
public subscription, approximately $1,200,000. The interest and
the amortization of the principal of the loan amount to five
hundred dollars a day.

Current
plans are for a Nursing School and Residence at a cost of $1,500,000.

OUR
LADY OF LOURDES HOSPITAL
1950

OUR
LADY OF LOURDES HOSPITAL
Early 1950s

CAMDEN COURIER POST - MAY 19, 1964

Bishop's Hospital Fund
Oversubscribed $200,000

Ground
for Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital was broken September 7,
1947. More
than 2,500 persons saw
Bishop Eustace turn the first spadeful of earth at the site on
Haddon Avenue near Euclid. He then blessed the ground.

The
ceremony, attended by church dignitaries, civic and professional
leaders, was the culmination of a campaign opened a year
previously by the bishop to raise funds for the new hospital
construction.

In
his address Bishop Eustace reported the goal of $2,200,000
was oversubscribed by more than $200,000.

Rich,
Poor Contributed

"This
was indeed a very generous response for which thanks are to be
returned to every class of persons;" said the late bishop.
"The rich and poor have nobly and generously contributed.
The donors were not all Catholics; many not of our faith.
Protestants as well as Jews have seen fit to associate themselves
with us in this charitable enterprise.

"Mutual
suspicions can now be put aside. We make an important step toward
oneness of spirit. We become more united in a world torn by
conflicting aims and purposes."

Lights
that form a halo for the statue of Our Lady of Lourdes on top of
the hospital were turned on for the first time March 28, 1949, by
Mother Superior Paracleta, OSF, superintendent of the hospital
since it opened. The halo is visible for miles.

Donors
Praised at Dinner

Bishop
Eustace again praised the people of South Jersey for their
benevolence at a dinner Nov. 29, 1949.
John Weber and
Thomas Kennedy, restaurant owners, jointly presented Bishop
Eustace with a check for $3,080 toward the hospital equipment fund. The money represented en­tire
proceeds from the sale of tickets for the dinner.

The
bishop paid tribute to "Kenney who is Irish by descent and
Weber who is Irish by assent."

The
cornerstone of the hospital was
laid Oct. 3, 1948; the
building completed March 15,1950;
the hospital dedicated May 28, 1950,
and opened for
patients July 1, 1950.

The
dedication ceremony began with a procession from the front of the
hospital to the rear where the speaker's platform and the altar
had been erected.

Hundreds In Procession

Several
hundred members of the clergy took part in the procession and,
while they walked to the rear of the building, the bells were
sounded at the Shrine of Perpetual Rosary in the adjacent
Dominican convent.

Honor
guard for the procession; included about 75 members of the
Knights of Columbus Fourth Degree of Camden Diocese under
jurisdiction of the Bishop Eustace General Assembly.

The
Courier-Post said in an editorial May 30,
1950:

"It
was Bishop Eustace who on arrival here 12 years ago was startled
by the lack of a Catholic hospital in the diocese. The spiritual
leader of the diocese at once set out to remedy that lack and
Sunday could see a magnificent monument to his tireless
efforts.

Hospital
Among Finest

"The
hospital was built and equipped from
private funds much of which was donated by citizens of all
faiths, just as the sick of all faiths will be given refuge and
relief there.

"Strikingly
modern architecturally, with the latest in scientific and medical
equipment, tasteful and inviting in its decor, Our Lady of
Lourdes has been called one of the finest hospitals in the
country.

"The
addition of 362 beds to the hospital facilities of Camden will
immeasurably lighten the load of those who care for this
community's sick. And, of course, the sick of Camden will look on
this new hospital as a welcome blessing.

"But
all of Camden, ill and healthy alike, can feel a sense of pride
in its beauty and the harbor of healing it will offer to everyone,"

Nursing
School Dedicated

The
School of Nursing was dedicated May 14, 1961, by Archbishop
Damiano, Bishop of Camden . There are 123 young women who are
students in the school. Ten were graduated last January. Forty
will be graduated next May 24.

When
the hospital opened there were 160 beds as compared to 362 now.
There were 175 employees at the end of 1950 and 716 at the end of
1963, according to Sister Paracleta. Total in-patients treated in
1950 was 901. Total for 1963 was 12,823. Eighty babies were born
in the hospital in 1950. Last year's total was 2,875.